For years, the West has relied on so-called 'chop suey' fonts to communicate 'Asianness' in food packaging, posters and ad campaigns. But such fonts perpetuate problematic stereotypes.
Here's a thought experiment: Close your eyes and imagine the font you'd use to depict the word"Chinese."
and kung-fu movie posters. These"chop suey fonts," as American historian Paul Shaw calls them, have been a typographical shortcut for"Asianness" for decades.for a calligraphy-style printing type, later named Mandarin, in 1883. It is perhaps no surprise that this Eastern-inspired lettering emerged in the late 19th century, an era when Orientalism coursed feverishly through the West.
."Neither the food nor the fonts bear any real relation to true Chinese cuisine or calligraphy. But this has not prevented the proliferation of chop suey lettering and its close identification with Chinese culture outside of China."Type designers in the West have since cooked up many of their own versions of chop suey.
White politicians, meanwhile, have been using chop suey fonts to stoke xenophobia for over a century. In her book,"This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot," Cooper Union professor Alicia Cheng draws attention to the"chopsticks font," as she calls it, used by San Francisco politician Dr. C. C. O'Donnell on a 1876 ballot, as he vowed to deport all Chinese immigrants if he was elected into office.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Slipping COVID-19 treatment demand hits Eli Lilly forecastEli Lilly fell well short of Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations, and the drugmaker chopped the top end of its earnings forecast due to lower demand for COVID-19 treatments.
Read more »
Lizzo and Chris Evans Had the Best Interaction on InstagramLizzo and Chris Evans had the best IG exchange, which started with Lizzo sending Evans a drunk DM and ended with Evans poking fun at his social media mishaps.
Read more »
Demi Lovato explains why she cut most of her hair offThe singer spoke with Drew Barrymore about her decision to chop her locks.
Read more »
Halle Berry Debuts a Transformative Haircut on the Oscars Red Carpet.halleberry debuted a new, freshly-chopped hairstyle on tonight's Oscars red carpet
Read more »